Former Arizona football coach Rich Rodriguez: By the numbers
Jan 3, 2018, 5:39 PM
Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez directs his team during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Washington State in Pullman, Wash., Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
(AP Photo/Young Kwak)
For six seasons, Rich Rodriguez was the face of football at the University of Arizona.
In his third year as head coach, Rodriguez took his team to the Fiesta Bowl against the Boise State Broncos at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. Arizona football never had another season like when the Wildcats played in the Pac-12 Championship in 2014.
On Tuesday, Rodriguez was fired amid allegations he sexually harassed a female employee at the university who claimed he created a hostile work environment.
Now, we will look at the six-year career of Rich Rodriguez, by the numbers:
43-35
Rodriguez spent six seasons at Arizona after he was fired from the University of Michigan in January 2011. The West Virginia alum was hired by Arizona on Nov. 21, 2011, becoming the university’s 30th head football coach.
His overall record was 43-35 in Tucson. He has two more wins than former head football coach Mike Stoops, who went 41-50.
3
The team finished with a 7-6 overall record in 2017. But the Wildcats lost three games in a row to end the season, including a 38-35 defeat vs. the Purdue Boilermakers at this year’s Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, Calif.
4
Rodriguez had four seasons where he had a 1,000-yard rusher on his offense.
In 2017, Khalil Tate led the team in rushing with 1,411 yards.
It was Nick Wilson who led the team in rushing in 2014 with 1,375 yards, and in 2012 and 2013, Ka’Deem Carey led the team in rushing yards both years, racking up 4,290 yards in those two seasons.
5
Rodriguez took over the program in 2012 and has led the Wildcats to five bowl appearances including the New Mexico Bowl (2012, 2015), AdvoCare V100 Bowl (2013), Fiesta Bowl (2014) and the Foster Farms Bowl (2017).
Rodriguez is 3-2 in bowl games as Arizona head football coach.
34.95
The Arizona football offense averaged 34.95 points under Rodriguez. The highest point average per game, 41.3 points, came in 2017. The lowest, 24.8, happened in the 2016 season.
6.3
Rodriguez was still under contract with Arizona until 2020, but said that the university had elected to buy out the rest of his contract upon firing him for $6.3 million.
41.75
Arizona football is currently ranked 45 in the 2017 football recruiting composite team rankings. The team is currently ranked ahead of Illinois and Duke, according to 247Sports.
Some of this year’s class could decommit with the recent events surrounding Rodriguez’s termination.
Over the past four years, the team has an average rank of 41.75. In 2014, the team saw its highest rank of 31, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.
The lowest, in 2016, had the team rank 48 out of 50 teams.
